Eerie CCTV footage of missing tourist shows him sprinting from airport in fear

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A missing holidaymaker who vanished eight years ago was apparently seen running in terror just moments before he vanished – never to be seen again.

Tourist Lars Mittank has not been seen since he disappeared outside a Bulgarian airport back in July 2014.

Worrying CCTV footage captured the 28-year-old's last seen moments as he suddenly sprints from the airport building and darts into a nearby forest.

The video shows the German holidaymaker walking almost leisurely through the terminal before suddenly turning back on himself and fleeing.

The clearly petrified Mittank has mystified authorities and internet revellers for almost a decade as they debated what he was running from.

He left behind all of his belongings in his rush to flee, including his wallet, passport and mobile phone.

Members of YouTube and Reddit have come up with a number of theories on what could have happened to Lars – but they and investigators have been left stumped.

The CCTV footage of Mittank has been viewed well over 20million times and landed him with the title of the "Most famous missing person on YouTube".

Mittank had flown to Bulgaria with his friends to spend time at the Golden Sands seaside resort.

A few days before he was due to leave however, he got into a fight in McDonald's and suffered a possible concussion and perforated eardrum.

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He was handed a course of antibiotics and was made to stay behind while his friends flew home as the air pressure changes on board would have hurt his ear.

But things went from bad to worse after he waved goodbye to his friends and checked himself into a hotel.

While there Lars called his mum in a horrifying panic, claimed he was being followed by people who wanted to kill him and asked if she could cancel all of his bank cards.

Bulgaria is a country with high levels of human trafficking and organised crime, which puts extra weight to Lars' claims.

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Speaking to German media, Sandra Mittank said: "I thought, god, my son is in danger. I could hear his heart pounding over the phone. He said people were trying to rob him or kill him."

CCTV in the hotel reportedly showed the obviously scared man pacing up and down the hotel lobby, hiding in a lift and looking out of windows.

The mother thought everything was going to be okay when she got a text from Lars saying he had made it to the airport terminal the following morning.

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Lars needed to get approved by an airport doctor before he could fly and upon meeting him was described as "nervous and erratic".

Dr Kosta Kostov, the airport doctor, claims that the 28-year-old was terrified when a construction worker entered the room and cried out: "I don't want to die here. I have to get out of here."

It has never been understood what caused Lars to flee that day.

Police searches and a private investigator hired by the family all turned up blank.

The internet continues to ponder what might have led to his disappearance – whether it was drugs, a head injury or he really was fleeing an unknown danger.

• YouTube
• Drugs
• Family
• Missing Person

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